Conveying mechanism



May 4, 1948. E, MARSDEN 2,441,100

CONVEYING MECHANISM Filed June 1, 1946 I N V EN TOR.

Eewasr 8. Mnea'aew Patented May 45, 1948 J Eo stares new CONVEYING MECHANESli I Ernest B. Marsden, Erie, Pa, assignor to The Staneilardv Stoker Company, Incorporated, a

corporation of Delaware Application June 1, 1946, 'Serial No. 673,753-

. 1 This invention relates to conveying mechanism and particularly to conveying mechanism embodying-a conveyor trough, a conveyor screw disposed in the trough, a gear casing at the rearward end of the trough in which casing is mounted a drive shaft extending forwardly into the trough, anda drive connection between the adjacent ends of' the drive shaft and conveyor screw.

An object of the invention is to provide in a conveying mechanism of the type described, an"

efiective sealexcluding particles of the material being conveyed or dust and dirt of any nature it is exposed to rain and water fromwet coal. It

is, therefore, another object of the invention to provide a seal-for the-drive connection between the drive shaft and conveyor of such conveying mechanism, that effectively excludes water from the drive connection and driveshaft bearing.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of the features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a longitudinal central vertical sectional view through the rearward portion of a conveyor trough embodying the novel sealing means for the drive connection between the drive shaft and conveyor screw, with the gear casing for the trough, and other parts being shown in elevation, the section being taken on the line ll of Figure 2;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 22 of Figure 1 looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the drive connection and sealing means shown in Figure 1, parts being in elevation and parts in section.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral l6 indicates an open mouth conveyor trough in which there is mounted the conveyor screw H. A gear casing I2 at the rear of conveyor trough IE! houses suitable reduction gearing (not shown) and the Claims. (01. 198-45) 7 rearward end of the drive shaft it, for operating;

the conveyor screw I I.

The rearv journal of the mounted in; a bearing It formed with the cover it of the gearcasing i2 and the front journal of drive shaft i3 is mounted in the annular shaped bearing 56 which is preferably formed integral with the-gear casing l2 and extends inwardly of the trough it. A polygonal forward portion ll of drive shaft it enters a corresponding socket H3 in the hub .I 9 of conveyor screw! i forming a drive connection between the drive shaft 23 and conveyor screw H. v Y

Rearward thrust'of the conveyorscrew H incident to its conveyance of material forwardly in the trough Hi, as'for example in the conveyance of coal in the tender trough of a locomotive stoker,

is transmitted through the'bearing it to the'gear casing i2 by the thrust washers 2t and 2 L'which are preferably made of manganese steel. Thrust washer 22' is mounted on-the polygonal portion l of drive shaft 68' adjacent the rearward endlof the hub iQ'of conveyor screw H and is arranged for rotation with the drive shaft i3. Thru'st washer ii-is provided with aplurality oi-lugs 22' a1;

ranged-to be received in-corresponding holes 23 in the forward end face'of the bearing if and is thus held from rotating. I

To prevent the co'nveyor-screw'i i and the drive shaft E3 from pulling apart due to forward thrustof-the conveyor screw ii when operated in re verse, a pair of bolts and 25 arranged at'rig ht angles to one another extend through the conveyor screw hub it and the polygonal shaft portion H. The holes in the polygonal shaft portion H through which the bolts 24 and 25 extend, are longitudinally elongated as shown at 26 and '2'! in Figure 1. As wear between the washers 2D and it occurs, the elongated holes 255 and 21 permit the conveyor screw I l to move rearwardly a corresponding distance, thereby preventing the rearward thrust of the conveyor screw from being transmitted to the drive shaft l3.

' The conveyor screw hub it is provided near its rearward end with an annular laterally projecting flange 28 to which is suitably secured, a rearwardly extending cylindrical housing 23 which embraces the adjacent ends of the bearing 16 and conveyor screw hub i5, and the thrust washers 25, 2! disposed therebetween. The hearing it is provided near its forward end with a peripheral annular groove 36 arranged to receive a split ring 3 I, the periphery of the ring 3| fitting tightly against the inside surface of the cylindrical housdrive shaft i3 ising 29 forming a seal between the open rearward end of the housing 28 and the bearing [6.

The chamber 3'2 formed by the housing 29 is preferably filled with a heavy lubricant or grease through the fitting 33 to provide a more eilfective seal and at the same time to provide for lubrication of the relatively moving enclosed parts. While the construction as shown in the drawing is preferable from a practical standpoint, it will be obvious that the flange 28 and ring 3| can be transposed.

I claim:

1. In a conveying system, a bearing member, a drive shaft journaled in said bearing, a conveyor screw having a hub member, a drive connection between said drive shaft and said conveyor screw hub member, one of said members having a peripheral flange, the other of said members having a peripheral groove, a housing about the adjacent ends of said members, one end of said housing being rigidly secured to said flange to form a seal, and a ring mounted in said groove and contacting the other end of said housing to form a seal, said seals preventing ingress of foreign matter to said bearing and drive connection.

2. In a conveying system, a bearing, a drive shaft journaled in said bearing, a conveyor screw having a hub, a drive connection between said drive shaft and said conveyor screw hub, a peripheral flange on said hub, a peripheral groove in said bearing, a housing about the adjacent ends of said bearing and hub, one end of said housing being rigidly secured to said flange to form a seal, and a ring mounted in said groove and contacting the other end of said housing to form a seal, said seals preventing ingress of foreign matter to said bearing and drive connection.

3. In a conveying system, a conveyor trough, a conveyor screw having a hub, said conveyor screw being disposed in said trough, a gear casing forming the rear of said trough, a drive shaft mounted in said casing and projecting forwardly therethrough into said trough, a bearing for said projecting portion of said drive shaft formed with said gear casing, a drive connection between said drive shaft and said conveyor screw hub, a peripheral flange formed on the hub of said conveyor screw, a peripheral groove in said bearing, a housing about the adjacent ends of said bearing and hub, one end of said housing being rigidly secured to said flange to form a seal, and a ring mountedin said groove and contacting the other end of "said housing to form a seal, said seals preventing ingress of foreign matter to said bearing and drive connection.

4. In a conveying system, a bearing, a drive shaft jou'rnaled in said bearing, a conveyor screw having a? hub, a drive connection between said drive shaft and said conveyor screw hub, means interposed between the adjacent ends of said bearing and said conveyor screw hub for transmitting the thrust of said conveyor screw to said bearing including a pair of thrust washers, one of said washers being arranged to rotate with said drive shaft and screw conveyor and the other of said washers being fixed against rotation, a peripheral flange on said hub, a peripheral groove in said bearing, a housing about the adjacent ends of said bearing and hub, one "end of said housing being rig-idly secured to said flange to form a seal, and a ring mounted in said groove and contacting the other end of said housing to form a seal, said seals preventing ingress of foreign matter to said thrust washers, bearing and drive connection.

5. In a conveying system, a bearing member, a drive shaft journaled in said bearing, a conveyor screw having a hub member, a drive connection between said drive shaft and said conveyor screw hub member, one of said members having a peripheral flange, a housing about the adjacent ends of said members in spaced relation with respect thereto, one end of said housing being rigidly secured to said flange to form a seal, and annular sealing means within the other end of said housing between the adjacent peripheral surfaces of said end of said housing and the member therein, one of said peripheral surfaces being provided with an annular groovefor receiving said annular sealing means, said seals preventing ingress of foreign matter to said hearing and drive connection.

ERNEST B. MARSDEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,005,472 Renneburg Oct. 10, 1911 1,962,707 Carter June 12, 1934 

